“A Study of Eight acknowledges the significant contribution Black fashion designers and influencers made to fashion’s history. The curated editorial project covers people and events of cultural and historical significance between the years of 1880 and 1980.” Jane Clayson, NPR Here & Now. | © 2021 Rhonda P. Hill, all rights reserved. Library of Congress General Collections LCCN 2021392146 (hardbound)
A Study of Eight is a literary composition advancing the study of African Americans’ contribution to fashion history. Eight American stories cover people and events of cultural and historical significance occurring between 1880 and 1980 against the backdrop of the post Reconstruction era to beyond the Civil Rights Movement (CRM). These stories represent the voices […]
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Cotton, the most widely used textile fiber in the world, has a distinguishable, contentious history of oppressed, discriminatory labor practices in the United States. The use of cheap factory labor has its roots in an all too familiar story of oppression and segregation.
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In 1900 a transformation of Black identity and the world’s view of Blacks in America took center stage at the 1900’s World’s Fair in Paris. A perception of Blacks in America was manifested through photojournalism and visual data witnessed by the outside world looking in. Those in the Black community validated that perception by leveraging […]
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I love my clothes and I’m particular about whom I sew for. I’m an awful snob. I’m not interested in sewing for café society or for social climbers. I do not cater to Mary and Sue. I sew for the families of the social register. – Anne Lowe Gerri Major, Ebony Magazine, December 1966
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Mildred Blount became the first African American member of the Motion Pictures Costumers Union. Her hats are in the collections of California African American Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
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The Black community did not have model representation in mainstream fashion magazines until the tumultuous time of the 60’s when Donyale Luna, Naomi Ruth Sims, Beverly Johnson were the first Blacks to grace the covers. Black beauty had been denied to enter this space for so long, so finally, there was inclusion, respect, and recognition, […]
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From civil rights to the catwalk, Ebony Fashion Fair defied all odds and left an empowering effect on the African American community. The cumulative effect of years of presenting high fashion to African Americans, on African Americans, with African Americans taste-making in mind, enabled Mrs. Johnson to be a change-agent who harnessed the power of […]
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A passionate declaration from Bill Cunningham, American fashion photographer of the New York Times, who remembers that the Black fashion models at the Battle of Versailles fashion show brought together a cultural movement that not only marked a new era in fashion, but was a defining moment in racial equality.
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I don’t design clothes for the Queen; but for the people who wave at her as she goes by. – Willi Smith
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